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Introduction: Euphorbia hirtaL. is a common weed plant belongs to family Euphorbiaceae. Thepresent study brings out the importance of weed plants like E. hirtain medicine and health thecare system. Material and Methods:Plant E. hirtahas been collected from thegarden of Department of Botany, University of Delhi and plant leaves were extractedin ethanol by thesoxhlet method. Antibacterial screening has been done by disc-diffusion method. Theantioxidant potential has been determined by TPC, TFC, FRAP, Total antioxidants through phosphomolybdate assay and by DPPH radical scavenging activity. FTIR and GCMS analysis havebeen done for characterization.Result and Discussions:Plant E. hirtashowed significant antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli,Staphylococcus aureus, Bacilus subtilisand Pseudomonas aeruginosawith maximum ZOI diameter 19±0.5mmagainst S.aureusandP.aeruginosaboth. Plant E. hirtaL. showedsignificant antioxidant potential with 196.32 mg/g, 39.7133 mg/g, 595.99 mg/g, 525.84 mg/g values for TPC, TFC, FRAP activity and total antioxidants through phosphomolybdate assay respectively. Plant E. hirtaalso showedsignificant radical scavenging activity against DPPH free radical with amaximum % inhibition 68.505% at 1000μg/ml concentration. FTIR and GCMS of plant E. hirtahave confirmed the presence of various active functional groups and compounds.Conclusion:The current study justifies the importance of E. hirta L. a common weed asasource of natural antioxidants having antibacterial potential and its role in herbal medicines.©2022iGlobal Research and PublishingFoundation. All rights reserved.

The ethnopharmacological investigation was done to study the traditional usage of indigenous medicinal plants of Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. Therefore, an extensive ethnopharmacological survey was conducted to document the traditional knowledge of ethnomedicinal plants. Direct interviews of 77 informants were conducted with the help of a questionnaire. Three quantitative factors (use value, factor informant consensus and fidelity level) were used for the analysis of generated data. A total of 102 species, belonging to 90 genera and 30 families were identified and collected with the help of traditional healers and local informants from different locations of the study area. Total 19 medicinal plants species were reported for new or less known ethnomedicinal uses. Also, 3 threatened wild plants species were collected from the study area. The maximum number of species belongs to the family Lamiaceae (7), Fabaceae (7), Asteraceae (6), Moraceae (4 species), Apocyanaceae (4 species) and Euphorbiaceae (3 species). Different plant parts were used by local informants such as leaves, galls, fruits, seeds, latex, stem, root, flowers, bark, and rhizomes. It was also observed that maximum numbers of plant species were used to cure gastro-intestinal disorders (48 species), skin disorders (34 species) and respiratory disorders (25 species). Ethnopharmacological data depict that medicinal plants were extensively used by local people to cure gastrointestinal, dermatological disorders and skeletomuscular disorders. Traditionally used medicinal plants have enormous potential to provide the raw material for the discovery of new bioactive compounds and drugs.

The current study was done to evaluate the chemical composition, antioxidant and antibacterial activities of Drymaria cordata extract in three solvents i.e. methanol (DCM), hexane (DCH) and water (DCW) against chloramphenicol-resistant Bacillus subtilis and β-lactams-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Phytochemical screening and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) showed the presence of phenols, amines, hydroxy group, and amino-related components. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GCMS) depicts the presence of antibacterial compounds such as hexanedioic acid, hexadecanoic acid, nonadecadiene, hexadecen-1-ol, octadecadienoic acid and neophytadiene. DPPH free radicals scavenging assay exhibit maximum percentage inhibition in DCM (71.57 %) at the concentration of 1000μg/ml. The total antioxidant through phosphomolybdate assay was observed in DCM with values 834.44 ± 4.01 mg AAE/g of extract. For antibacterial activities, DCM shows best zone of inhibition (ZOI) (8 mm at 100 µg/ml to 15.17 mm at 1000 µg/ml) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (75 µg/ml) as compared to other extracts against Bacillus subtilis. Also, DCM shows zone of inhibition (ZOI) (6.83 mm to 13.17 mm) and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) (70 µg/ml) as compared to other extracts against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These results indicate that the Drymaria cordata methanol extract possesses good antibacterial and antioxidant properties which justify its use against pathogenic bacteria.

Biosynthesis of nanoparticle from various medicinal plants has been effectively used in controlling the various diseases. Secondary metabolites which are derived from various plant parts such as leaves, stems, roots, shoots, flowers, barks and seeds through extraction used as reducing agents for bioreduction reaction. The secondary metabolites present in the plants such as terpenoids, flavones, ketones, aldehydes, alkaloids, tannins, phenolics and saponins used in the biological synthesis of nanoparticles which are a less toxic and non-hazardous method as compare to the other physical and chemical biosynthesis. Various metals such as cobalt, copper, silver, gold, palladium, platinum, zinc oxide and magnetite are used for nanoparticle synthesis. There are different techniques which are used to characterize nanoparticles such as UV-visible (vis) spectrophotometer, dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). Plant derived nanoparticles shows various pharmacological applications such as anti-bactericidal activities, anti-fungicidal activities, antiplasmodial activity, anti-inflammatory action, anticancer studies, antiviral effects, antidiabetic and antioxidant activities.

Leaves of Ajuga parviflora Benth. (Lamiaceae) are widely used for treating hyperglycemia in the Himalayas' foothills of India. Hydroalcoholic and hexane leaf extracts of A. parviflora were evaluated for their inhibitory potential against carbohydrate-hydrolyzing enzymes linked with hyperglycemia (α-amylase and α-glucosidase) and the effect of extracts on glucose uptake by the yeast cells by in-vitro means. Additionally, antioxidant capacities of both extracts were tested and chemical compositions were also studied by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). For estimation of the antioxidant capacities, total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical (DPPH) and 2,2′-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) radical (ABTS•+) scavenging activities, Fe3+ and MO(V) reducing assay were determined. GC-MS analysis revealed various biologically active compounds in which oleic acid, phytol and palmitic acid are present in both the extracts. The TPC and TFC contents were found higher in hydroalcoholic extract than hexane extract. The IC50 value of both hydroalcoholic and hexane extracts exhibited significant potency for DPPH (113.13 ± 1.4 and 206.8 ± 9.43 μg/mL) and ABTS (156.67 ± 6.76 and 128.2 ± 1.71 μg/mL) as well as for α-amylase (103.55 ± 2.5 and 116.34 ± 2.08 μg/mL) and α-glucosidase (61.38 ± 0.25 and 74.76 ± 0.29 μg/mL) respectively. Both extracts showed a remarkable improvement in the rate of glucose uptake into yeast cells. These findings indicate that A. parviflora leaf possesses antidiabetic and antioxidant properties which justify its traditional antidiabetic use. Based on our findings, we suggest that A. parviflora might be used as an effective phytopharmaceutical in the management of type II diabetes.

Ajuga parviflora Benth. (Lamiaceae) is an annual and short-lived perennial herb grows in Himalayas’ foothills of India, Afganistan and Pakistan. In the present study hydroethanolic and hexane leaf extracts of A. parviflora were investigated for the antibacterial activities against gram negative (Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) and gram positive (Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria. The qualitative phytochemical screening and identification of active chemical components of hydroethanolic and hexane extracts of A. parviflora using FTIR spectrum. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of alkaloids, flavonoids, fatty acids, phenols, steroid and terpenoids as major components in both extracts. However, the FTIR spectrums confirmed the presence of alcohols, alkanes, alkene and alkyl halides in these extracts. Antibacterial potential of extracts were evaluated by well diffusion method, showed significant sensitivity against both the tested bacteria's and the range of inhibitory zone were 8±0.23 to 20.33±0.52 mm at 25 to 200 μg/ml and the maximum zone of inhibition (ZOI) was observed in E. coli at 200 μg/ml.

Urolithiasis is a complex process which occurs in approximately 12% of the global population results from a succession of several physiochemical events including super saturation, nucleation, growth, aggregation and retention within the urinary tract. Most common urinary calculi are calcium oxalate stones. Urolithiasis has been also documented in the Ayurveda as mutrashmari and plants used for the treatment called as “Pashanabedha”. Some plants have been successfully used in the treatment of these urinary calculi for ex. Crateva nurvala, Bergenia ciliate, Lepidagathis prostrate etc.